Canarian Cuisine
La "Cocina Canaria" (The Canarian Kitchen) is a proud heritage for the
people of Lanzarote. Not having the fertile soil of the peninsular, the farmers had to be very clever in order to make the
most of the barren, dry land left from the legacy of the volcanic eruptions. You will see travelling through the island much
of the fields are covered in black volcanic gravel. This is called "picon"and is spread over the fields to capture the
precious early morning dew. In poorer, leaner times dishes had to be created from basic locally grown produce to fill the
hardworking farming families. These dishes in one form or another can not only be found in the simple restaurants in the
countryside today but in the most popular upmarket restaurants in the tourist areas.
Without doubt the most
important ingredients of Canarian cooking are the "Frutas del Mar", Fruits of the Sea. Having a wide variety of local fish
delivered daily to the ports along with the "Mariscos" the seafood, consisting of prawns, crayfish, squid and octopus.
WHAT TO EAT
"Tapas" meaning small portions can be found in most Canarian bars
gives you the opportunity to try more than one dish at a time. Normally found on the bar in long refrigerated containers just
point to the ones you like the look of. Best served with a chunk of bread and a glass of the house wine or a cold beer.
A
selection of typical tapas dishes:
